tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post1733840209873632591..comments2024-03-28T03:39:00.025-07:00Comments on WILD ABOUT HARRY: New Houdini book by Christopher Sandford coming in NovemberJohn Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-91770147309757321582011-03-07T17:44:54.191-08:002011-03-07T17:44:54.191-08:00Religious mania. Exactly.Religious mania. Exactly.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-61223438263119132732011-03-07T17:28:44.812-08:002011-03-07T17:28:44.812-08:00I get the impression they were believers but the b...I get the impression they were believers but the belief made them blind to the reality of what they were experiencing. I think it is just like any kind of religious mania in that sense. People really feel they have experienced a "presence" or something but the feeling comes from the state of excitement they get themselves into rather than anything "otherworldly".melbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14032793912135092967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-15777029648282969602011-03-07T13:29:13.329-08:002011-03-07T13:29:13.329-08:00I don't think he asked. In fact, if I remember...I don't think he asked. In fact, if I remember correctly, they volunteered the seance, probably hoping to help convince him. They certainly knew his mother was the way to get to him. But they should have done a little more research. It's odd. Were the Doyle's out and out frauds, or was there some kind of self delusion going on? Maybe Lady Doyle really did believe these words were John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-57446838104588335302011-03-07T12:19:17.408-08:002011-03-07T12:19:17.408-08:00That's a good point. Maybe he told mediums abo...That's a good point. Maybe he told mediums about his mother as a pretext for visiting them. After all, if you're a medium's client, you must want to talk to someone in particular. It would be suspicious otherwise.<br /><br />I wonder: Did Houdini ask Lady Doyle to contact his mother, or did she just assume he wanted contact with his mother?Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-80885111125301688952011-03-07T11:48:30.903-08:002011-03-07T11:48:30.903-08:00The Curtis movie certainly cemented this myth. I t...The Curtis movie certainly cemented this myth. I think it may stem from Houdini relating his own grief for his mother to those whom mediums were taking advantage. That and the Atlantic City seance may have created a false timeline in the public mind that Houdini had only recently lost his mother and was on a quest. Houdini certainly behaved like his mother had only just died, even ten years on. John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-36227038622062854992011-03-07T11:29:51.548-08:002011-03-07T11:29:51.548-08:00Maybe the false impression stems from the Tony Cur...Maybe the false impression stems from the Tony Curtis movie.Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-20433832334399109762011-03-07T10:10:11.128-08:002011-03-07T10:10:11.128-08:00I've actually been tempted to do a full blog p...I've actually been tempted to do a full blog post on this one, Eric. Unless it's found in dairies or letters that I haven't yet seen, you're right, there is NOTHING to support the idea that Houdini attended seances after his mother died or that his interest in Spiritualism was directly linked to her death. As you say, from a young age he was interested in Spiritualist effects as John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-57368721323313588562011-03-07T09:53:53.695-08:002011-03-07T09:53:53.695-08:00I'd have to re-read the relevant parts of the ...I'd have to re-read the relevant parts of the Houdini bios, but I wonder about the truth of this common trope about Houdini: He tried to contact his mother after her death. He became enraged at the fraudulent mediums, so he devoted the latter part of his life to exposing them.<br /><br />But is that what really happened? First, when did he start attending seances and sending investigators to Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-30698777545683896502011-03-07T07:17:38.881-08:002011-03-07T07:17:38.881-08:00I was surprised when Polidoro used a title so clos...I was surprised when Polidoro used a title so close to the '32 book, especially as that book is still around as a print on demand. <br /><br />You know, what is with the sudden explosion of interest in HH and Doyle?John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-48726207139741087882011-03-07T07:13:01.532-08:002011-03-07T07:13:01.532-08:00That's true, too.That's true, too.Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-68902893554316469772011-03-07T06:49:42.784-08:002011-03-07T06:49:42.784-08:00Well, Ernst and Carrington beat them both to it in...Well, Ernst and Carrington beat them both to it in 1932 with "Houdini And Conan Doyle: The Story of a Strange Friendship."John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-86253187337684050532011-03-06T20:32:40.782-08:002011-03-06T20:32:40.782-08:00If I were Massimo Polidoro, I'd be miffed abou...If I were Massimo Polidoro, I'd be miffed about the subtitle. He wrote a book titled "Final Seance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle."Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-5348623376710604882011-03-06T12:14:22.989-08:002011-03-06T12:14:22.989-08:00Previously unpublished material, yet again. There ...Previously unpublished material, yet again. There is no end to new Houdini stuff!Carnegiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com